In the Kitchen No. 1 - Savory Bread Pudding

If you know thismuch about me, you know that food is one of my few great loves. When I was on maternity leave, I started sharpening my gourmet cooking skills - I was actually had kind of a creepy(?) obsession with it, but that's for another posts (<<--- whispers to herself "damn hormones...."). Going back to work took a bit of a toll on gourmet nights in the Whitman kitchen, but I still try to cook fresh, from-scratch meals most nights. I have a few staples that we all love, and rely heavily on Food and Wine magazine and its various recommended books. Lately I've been experimenting with adapting gourmet food to weeknight cooking (i.e., quick meals).

The recipe this is based on calls for a ton of prep work, and a very long cooking period. Total investment, 'bout 3 hours (I know, I've made it as directed). So I swapped out a few things, and spent the cook time bathing and putting the baby goo to bed. The result? A semi-gourmet meal in about half the time. It does seem like a lot of work for a weeknight, and I think next time I'm going to try a savory bread pudding in the crockpot. That shall be an "experiment" for sure...

Artichoke and Sweet Onion Bread Pudding*

(loosely based on/inspired by Thomas Keller's "Leek Bread Pudding" in Ad Hoc at Home; oh, and by the way, Keller is a freakin' genius)

Ingredients:

1 12-oz bag of frozen artichokes

1 large sweet onion

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 loaf of rustic bread, cubed (roughly 8 cups)

3 eggs

3 cups milk

3 cups heavy cream

6 ounces fontina cheese, grated

a pinch of nutmeg

pepper to taste
salt to taste

dried basil to taste

fresh chives, 1/4 cup

*This recipe is delicious. This recipe is NOT healthy. But did I mention that it's delicious?

 1. Heat the oven to 450. Sautee frozen artichoke hearts over medium heat until they are slightly softened and browned.

 2. Meanwhile, roughly dice one large sweet or white onion into 1" pieces.

3. Once the artichoke hearts are browned and softened, sprinkle with sea salt and add four tablespoons of butter. Allow the butter to melt and emulsify with the juices from the artichokes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened.

 4. While the onions cook, dice up the bread into 1" chunks. I like to use "Tuscan Pane" from Trader Joe's - it's hearty with a ton of flavor, but comes presliced, which makes the cutting process super quick. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown and toasty (about 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350.

5. Whisk the 3 eggs slightly, then add 3 cups of milk (fat content is your choice - we typically drink 1%, so that's what I used) and 3 cups of heavy cream and whisk completely. Add a touch of nutmeg, dried basil to taste (I used about a teaspoon), fresh ground pepper  to taste and chopped fresh chives. (When cooking, I rarely measure - I almost always eyeball, and it's usually not a problem. Baking is another issue...) 

 6. Toss the toasted cubed bread and cooked artichokes and onions in a large bowl.

 7. Shred the Fontina.

8. In a large casserole dish, layer the bread/artichoke mixture with the shredded cheese (a la lasagna) and then pour the custard (milk/egg mixture) over the layers. Allow to soak for 20 minutes until the bread has absorbed most of the custard. Bake at 350 for an hour and a half.

The verdict. This recipe was quite tasty. We ate it as an entree with a quick tossed salad, and it paired well with a Chardonnay from Courtney Benham (CA). The richness of the bread pudding really cut through the oak (which I admittedly don't always appreciate). The meal time took about 2 hours total, though only 25 or so minutes of prep time - I was able to get Cass settled while it cooked, but I think next time we'll save this one for a weekend. I like my 40 minute meals from fridge to table. Next time I'll feature something faster and healthier.